A Magical World
by AndAllThatMishigas
Summary: The Greatest Showman AU. Lucien Blake and his wife Jean navigate issues of class and acceptance and love as they create The Greatest Show on Earth.
1. Chapter 1

**A Magical World**

"I'll show you a magical world, Jean."

Lucien Blake had repeated those words to her a million times, sparking a million dreams to ease her difficult life. Her mother worked as a maid for the well-to-do Doctor Thomas Blake, and Jean had worked as a kitchen servant since she was a small child. It was brutal work, and at fourteen years old, she came to find that it was only ever made worthwhile by the friendship and tentative romance with the doctor's son, Lucien. He made her believe that something grand and bright and beautiful could be possible, despite their differing stations in life.

But Lucien was sent away to be educated as a doctor and eventually take over his father's practice. During their years apart, Jean and Lucien communicated by letter. The distance was heavily felt, however. It was harder and harder to keep faith in the magical world he used to talk about when he was so far away.

Dr. Blake promoted Jean to head housekeeper when her mother died, but he pressured her to marry Christopher Beazley, who managed the grounds on the Blake estate. Jean could hardly protest—how could she tell her employer that she, a housekeeper, couldn't possibly marry Christopher when she was hopelessly in love with the doctor's son? Reality told her that she and Lucien could never really be together. Dr. Blake would never allow it, and the whole world would shun their union of mismatched classes. It was hopeless.

Jean had tears in her eyes as she wrote Lucien a final letter, explaining that she would have to marry Christopher if she were to have any sort of future at all.

Lucien received Jean's letter, essentially saying goodbye—to him and all the dreams they had for their future together. He still had one more year before he finished medical school, but he didn't care. He took the first train home, praying he wasn't too late.

He rang the bell at his father's home and Jean answered the door.

"Jean! Please tell me you aren't married yet," he begged desperately.

Her turquoise eyes were wide. "No," was all she could say, too shocked at his sudden appearance to say much more.

Filled with hope, Lucien exhaled happily. "Good," he breathed. He stepped forward and placed his hands on her slender arms, giving them an affectionate squeeze. "Jean, I love you, and I want to marry you. Right now. If you'd have me."

Dr. Blake came down the stairs while Jean was trying to regain her power of speech. "Good lord, Lucien? What on earth are you doing here? You should be at school!" the doctor scolded.

"I've come to ask Jean to be my wife," Lucien told his father proudly, standing tall to face him.

"You certainly will not! She's the housekeeper!"

Lucien nodded. "Yes, and I love her." He placed his hand on the small of her back.

"She is engaged to marry Beazely," the doctor smugly informed his son.

But Lucien just smirked. "I'm hoping she'll marry me instead."

Dr. Blake was getting angry now. "Lucien, if you marry her and leave school, you will be disowned and disinherited. I'd like to see you provide for a wife and family in this world without my money!" he threatened.

Lucien smiled softly at Jean. "We'll create our own world. A magical world. What do you say, Jeanie? Care to take a risk on a soon-to-be poor man with no prospects who loves you more than anything?"

She blinked back tears as she removed the simple engagement ring that Christopher had given her. She handed it to Dr. Blake. "I'm sorry, sir," she whispered. "But I've got to follow Lucien to his magical world."

" _Our_ magical world," he corrected, taking her hand and running off down the street to begin their new life.


	2. Chapter 2

"Happy anniversary, my darling. Sorry I'm late," Lucien whispered to his wife when he came home from work that evening. Jean had fallen asleep on the sofa in the tiny sitting room of their shabby apartment, trying to wait up for him.

She stirred from her slumber at feeling his kiss on her forehead. "Lucien, you're home," she murmured.

"Yes, love," he replied, sitting beside her and stroking her cheek.

Jean woke up and sat up to put her arms around him and hold him tight. "I missed you today," she confessed.

"I miss you always. But yes, today especially. I hate that I had to take a twelve-hour shift on our anniversary," he lamented.

"It's alright. You work very hard to provide for our family." Jean gave him a small kiss to show her appreciation for his efforts.

"Jean, we've been married ten years today. I'm a failed medical student working as a morgue assistant. And I'm afraid I haven't given you that magical world I promised."

She cupped his cheek and told him very seriously, "Lucien, you look in that room over there. That's our magical world, asleep in their bed. You've given me a family, and every single day of these last ten years has been filled with joy and music and love, and if that isn't magic, I don't know what is."

The sleeping children were woken by the sounds of their parents' voices. A blonde eight-year-old came running out, tackling Lucien and shouting behind him, "Charlie, Dad's home!"

Lucien recovered from the attack with a joyful laugh. "Danny, my boy, you shouldn't be awake," he scolded half-heartedly.

Charlie came out, rubbing his eyes sleepily. His curly dark hair was sticking up in all directions, just as his father's did when he woke up. "Hi, Dad," he said sleepily.

"Sorry to wake you, son," Lucien apologized.

"It's alright. I'm glad you're back," Charlie replied with a yawn.

Lucien picked up Danny, who was certainly too old to be carried this way, and took Charlie's hand and led them back to their room. "Back to bed, boys."

"Dad, will you sing to us?" Danny begged as Lucien tucked him in.

"Of course. What would you like to hear?"

Charlie settled into bed with a smile. "The magic song," he requested.

Lucien's heart expanded in his chest. He'd been singing a million songs to his children since Jean had first gotten pregnant, very soon after their marriage. After his nine years on this earth, Charlie still loved to hear 'the magic song,' as he called it. In truth, it wasn't one particular song. It started that way, but always had different words and Lucien changed the tune each time.

Jean stood in the doorway and watched her sons as Lucien sang to them. This was truly magic, she knew.

When the song was over and Danny and Charlie were fast asleep, Lucien came over to his wife and put his arms around her, tucking her head under his chin and breathing in her scent. "I need to do better. For you and for them. There must be more," he murmured, more to himself than to Jean.

"How about music?" she suggested.

"What about music?" he replied, pulling away to look at her with confusion.

"You come up with these wonderful songs for the boys all the time! And I know you're a wonderful performer. You play piano and guitar and could probably figure out any other instrument, you're so clever. I'm sure you could make a living as a musician," Jean posited.

Lucien's mind began spinning with the idea. And it clicked. He kissed her soundly. "Jean, you are a marvel. That is the best idea. I don't deserve you, honestly. I can't believe you've put up with me for ten years. And I love you more every day."

They closed the door to the boys' room and locked their own bedroom door behind them, celebrating their anniversary making love, Lucien worshipping his wife's beautiful body and whispered endearments into her skin as she moaned his name.

A month later, Lucien had quit his job and secured a loan from a bank, using the last of the gold and stocks he had squirrelled away from his father so long ago as collateral. He came home and took Jean and Danny and Charlie to what he'd been secretly working on.

"Jeanie, you thought I should be a musician? Well, I'll do you one better." He revealed the gleaming letters painted on an old warehouse he'd purchased. Blake's Music Hall. "I thought I could perform some songs. You and the boys should be in the show, too. Might be a nice treat, the family all singing together. What do you think?" he asked the family nervously.

"You're going to sing and play for people?" Danny asked.

"I hope so."

The little boy grinned. "Everyone's gonna love you."

Charlie nodded in excited agreement.

Jean kissed Lucien's cheek and told him, "I think it's perfect. I can't wait for everyone to see your magic."


	3. Chapter 3

Try as they might, the Blakes couldn't seem to find an audience. A few would come and listen to their show and applaud and compliment Lucien's songs, Jean's lovely voice, and the adorable dances from Danny and Charlie. But it wasn't enough.

Lucien tried not to notice when Jean stared at the bills, terrified of how they would pay them. He did his best to keep the boys' spirits up and reassuring them all that everything would be alright, that they were just starting out. But he knew this wasn't working. His idea for a music hall and performances featuring his sweet, talented little family just didn't appeal to the masses.

Inspiration finally struck as he was walking through a rather dodgy part of town. A woman pushed past him, running down an alley. She was quickly followed by a stern policeman, shouting at her to stop. Curious, Lucien followed them around the corner.

The woman was at a dead end. The policeman smiled, knowing he'd captured her.

But instead of fearing her fate, the woman grinned and chuckled. She reached into her jacket and pulled out a handful of something. She threw it at the policeman.

There was a puff of smoke and a loud bang and a flash of green light. When the smoke cleared, she was gone.

The policeman cursed up a storm and went back out onto the street. Lucien stood there, mesmerized. He knew exactly what to do. He caught up to the policeman. "Excuse me, sir."

"Sergeant Hobart. How can I help?" the gruff policeman asked.

"Why were you chasing that woman?"

"She's a thief. Well-known to police, actually. She's constantly in and out of the jail and doing that sort of flashy work, escaping her cell, things like that," Sergeant Hobart replied.

Lucien pulled his card out of his pocket. "If you happen to apprehend her, could you let me know?"

Not three days later, Lucien was summoned to the police station. The woman he'd been looking for was held in custody. Sergeant Hobart led Lucien to her cell.

She frowned at him, her short auburn hair falling in her face and around her chin. "Who are you? Why were you looking for me?"

Lucien smiled. "My name is Lucien Blake. I've posted your bail on the contingency that you'll come work for me. You're everything I've been looking for."

Her pale blue eyes went wide. "Why on earth would you want me?"

"I saw you escape Sergeant Hobart a few days ago. That smoke? The sound and the light? I'm hoping you can show me how you did that."

She smirked proudly. "Oh, that. It's a lot of chemical reactions, actually. Just science."

Lucien nodded. "I think it's magic. And it's exactly what we need." He explained his idea to her and what he wanted her to do.

When he was finished, he waited expectantly for her response. She reached her right hand through the bars to him. "Alice Harvey, at your service, Lucien." He shook her hand and called for the constable to release her to him.

It took a few more weeks for Lucien to rework the show and get a few more acts—acrobats and musicians and animals and more tricksters like Alice. But finally, they were ready for the grand reopening.

"Lucien, are you going to tell me what you've been working on?" Jean asked, walking up the steps to Blake's Music Hall, curious as to why she and the boys hadn't been to rehearsals in a month, or why the marquis above the door was covered.

"I wanted to surprise you! You'll be in the audience to experience it all. Didn't want you to worry about performing. We can put you all back in the show later, if you want," he reasoned. "Here, have a look."

With a wave of his hand, someone unseen pulled the draping off the marquis. Instead of saying Blake's Music Hall in large block letters, it now had a shining, swirling script that read Blake's Magical World.

Jean looked at it in awe. "Oh Lucien!" she breathed.

Danny tugged on his mother's hand. "Mum, is there going to be magic!?" he asked excitedly. Charlie looked over to his father for the response.

"Just you wait, boys," Lucien replied, ushering his family into the theater. He kissed them all and ran backstage to get ready.

The audience filled the room. The changes had certainly caught people's attention. Jean even spotted the famous society columnist, Patrick Tyneman, with his notebook before the lights dimmed to darkness.

A loud bang and a flash of purple light caught everyone by surprise. A spotlight shone on the cloud of smoke which cleared to reveal Alice Harvey, dressed in a sequined dress. Another spotlight lit Lucien at the piano. He began to sing as Alice performed her tricks. The lights grew brighter as acrobats and dancers joined in. There were horses running in synchronized movements and trapeze artists flying above and magicians making people disappear with lights and colors. All the while, Lucien and the other musicians he'd hired sang and played.

When the show was over—concluding with Alice's special indoor fireworks—the entire crowd erupted in applause and shouts and excitement. Charlie and Danny were jumping up and down on their chairs, yelling their praises for their father and his show. Jean was moved to tears. He'd done it. She always knew he could, but now everyone else could see as well. Lucien had finally created their magical world.


End file.
